Come to our annual meeting and get updates on what's happening at the theatre and weigh in on key issues including board nominations. Membership is required: $25 annual suggestion, but you can participate for as little as just $1. Come join us - we want to hear your thoughts!
Board members that will be nominated at the meeting:
James Clarke
James Clarke has been a member of the SLT family since 2008. During that time, he has been an actor, director, music director, band member, and member of stage crew supporting main stage productions as well as our Summer Youth Project. He is a former member and chairperson of the Play Reading Committee. He has also been involved in other local community theatres and high school theatre programs as an actor, music director, Orchextra operator for a dozen productions.
James works at PRA Group/Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC. He began his career in 2007 as a clerk in their Bankruptcy Department and has held numerous positions within that department over the years. He was most recently their Senior Data and Systems Manager prior to accepting a position within their Investment Analytics Department as a Senior Analyst in October 2024. He also is a Certified Scrum Product Owner.
James was the 2020 recipient of the SLT Achievement Award and was appointed to the board in 2021 to fulfill the final year of a member's term. He was immediately elected President and has remained in that position for the entirety of his first term after being elected to serve at the 2022 Annual Meeting. Under his charge, the Board has made significant strides as SLT rebounded from COVID and has undergone significant improvements to make Smithfield Little Theatre a well-known and respected community theatre not only to our town, but also to the greater Hampton Roads community. Some of the Board accomplishments include receiving a $5K SVAE grant to upgrade our microphones, updating theatre documents as well as creating SLT notecards and bumper stickers, establishing a tax-exempt Amazon account and obtaining a theatre American Express credit card, and involvement in the Smithfield community to include participating in the Smithfield Famer’s Market, Friday Night Summer Concert Series, and organizing volunteers for Smithfield VA Events to be able to earn money back for the theatre.. In conjunction with various SLT committees, James was instrumental in many improvement projects to include new lobby furniture, the purchasing of a new combo washer/dryer to use for costumes during shows, installation of a handicap rail outside the stage door and a second set of railings in the auditorium, a new scrim, purchasing and installing a projector screen, and overseeing the return of our Summer Youth Project to include an additional program for younger participants. Additionally his leadership, the Board has instituted quarterly committee meetings to improve communication between all the theatre leaders, annual director/producer meetings, and vice chairs for many committees to have succession planning in place to ensure our theatre is set up for success in the future.
If elected to serve a second term, James will continue to bring his strong analytical, collaboration, and project management skills as well as his depth of knowledge for theatre and SLT to assist the Board of Directors and the theatre community.
Judy Post
Judy Post has been volunteering with SLT for about 8 years but has been a part of the SLT family for the last 12 years through her children. She volunteers her time in many capacities at
SLT. From box office vice chair to stage crew to props. She has also served on the production team for many of our shows. Judy is the chairperson for the Education Committee, which has
expanded our summer youth projects (this year we have 60 kids participating!), began holding acting intensives for our teens, and will be adding dance workshops this fall. Last Christmas,
Judy expanded her SLT Resume by co-directing “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus” . She loved the whole process of directing and plans to submit other shows in the future.
She has been a teacher with Isle of Wight County Schools for the past 18 years. She is currently a math intervention teacher, where she gets to live her dream of teaching math to young kids.
Judy has been on the Board of Directors at SLT for the past 3 years and has served as Secretary for the past year. She would love to continue to serve on the board as she feels we
are in the middle of so many wonderful projects and she would like to see them through to their completion.
Even though Judy may not be an “on-stage” person, she has a wide variety of knowledge not only in our theatre community, but also in the local and educational communities. Judy’s
willingness to continue to provide high quality productions to our audiences and continue to improve the theatre as we move forward is just a part of what would make her an asset to the
SLT Board of Directors.
Andrew Smith
Andrew Smith has been involved with and volunteering at SLT for a total of about 10 years (split in two parts) with a 5 year intermission where he worked hard for his Bachelors in Theatre from The University of Maryland with a concentration in Accents, Dialects, and Speech Patterns. He then got caught in Australia in lockdowns during COVID when he was visiting his family there after graduation.
Andrew has been seen in many capacities around the theatre from backstage, onstage, and as the chairperson of the Costume Committee where strides are being made to streamline the costuming process and make it easier for the committee and costumers alike to see the entirety of our costume collection digitally. He has also been seen onstage in MANY shows dating back to Anything Goes all the way up to Ragtime most recently.
He has worked as an actor, on stage crew, as a wig builder, assistant costumer, set painting, and is taking on the mantle of Director for the upcoming season opener: Murder On the Orient Express. He absolutely loves the SLT family and the sense of community the theatre brings to Smithfield.
As the manager of a town staple, Bon Vivant Market, he engages with members of the town and community on a daily basis as well as has a good sense of small and local business as well as things happening in the town. This and his theatre background in the community as well as his professional training make Andrew an asset to the theatre and he would only continue to be so on the SLT Board of Directors. Andrew is excited at the possibility of joining the Board and to be able to help achieve the many wonderful and beneficial projects, plans, and ideas the theatre is looking into in addition to being able to continue to help the theatre grow and flourish in the growing greater Smithfield community.
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